Pages

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Skills in the Homeschool

I read an article in Woman's Day Magazine last night that really just hit home with me. It is everything that Stephen and I have been talking about for this school year for our kids.

While math and english are very important parts of schooling, life skills are just as important. In fact, life skills are needed to be able to live an adequate and very fulfilling life.

I have watched countless teenagers grow up with little or no knowledge of how to care for a home, cook, take care of their vehicles, and frankly all of those things are a major importance in growing up.

Here are 6 skills that the article says are the most important for your teenager to learn. I totally agree!
  • Cleaning~All teens need to know how to clean. From washing dishes, taking out the trash, running the vacuum, washing clothes--they need to know! Weekly chores could involve all of these things. Create a schedule for them to go by so that they are properly introduced to running and caring for a household.
  • Car Maintenance~This is one that we are for sure going to be working on this year. The sad thing is that I am 35 and I still don't know how to properly care for a car. So my husband will be teaching all three of us this year. We are going to learn how to change the oil, check fluid levels, change a tire, and whatever else he thinks we should learn. In fact, the Duggars are not allowed to get their driver's license until they have went through a car maintenance workshop with their dad.
  • Laundry~When I married my husband, I had NO clue how to wash or dry clothing. The first load I ever washed and dried...I burned, seriously! I don't want my kids to have to go through that kind of embarrassment, so we are learning how to wash clothes this year as well.
  • Making Appointments~This is something that we have already started working on, especially with Robert. As we make appointments for things like doctors, and eye doctors, he is being responsible for creating the appointment and then once we go in, signing in and letting them know he has arrived. He is also learning what things to bring with him when he goes, because let's face it. He is almost 16. Soon he will be going places without us and he will need to know how to sign himself in.
  • Cooking~We are creating a home ec course this year that will involve everything from menu planning to completing a cooked dinner course. The kids are excited about this. If you have all boys it is extremely important for them to know how to cook for themselves. That is one thing I am proud of when I talk about my husband. He can cook and care for a home just as good as I can. I want our son to be the same way.
  • Managing Money~This one is a very big deal. I have always been one who is not good with money, so we are all learning this one together. 
If your teens have these 6 skills downpat then they will make well rounded adults!

4 comments:

Mrs. White said...

I hadn't thought of how important it is for them to learn to make appointments! Thanks for the idea!

The Sisters' Hood said...

Life skills tend to be forgotten these days ... and life is harder than it used to be. So teaching our children a few things to help them get by out side of a book is definitely the way to go!
We will read this together today - thanx!!!

PACountryMouse said...

VERY Important Life Skills, indeed! Way to go!

Unknown said...

Right on! And homeschoolers also have the advantage of doing internships and apprenticeships... talk about learning life skills.

Those are some of the reasons why our homeschoolers are proven to be better prepared for higher education.

Speaking of which, there's a great survey going around the homeschool blogs to see how well prepared your homeschooler is for dual credit or college, it's here: http://www.collegeplus.org/collegesurvey